Film reel



Patented June 16, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT orrics 6 Claims.

The object of my invention is to provide a nlm reel from which the lmcan bey unreeled beginning with the end first started on the reel whenreeling the nlm thereon, the reel, however, being of comparativelysimple and durable construction yet inexpensive to manufacture.

Still a further object is to provide a reel for lm or the like whicheliminates the necessity of having to rewind the lm after it is woundthereon so that the starting end of the lm is on the outside of the reelrather than on the inside.

A further object is to provide a film reel having at its central portiona guide means through which the film can be unreeled from' the interiorof the coil of the nlm on the reel instead of having to be unreeled fromthe outside.

A further object is to provide means to loosen the coils of the lm whenit is ready to unreel the lm from the reel.

Still another object is to provide a locking means for the starting endof the lm when starting to roll the film on the reel, such locking meansbeing simultaneously operable by the means which loosens the coils of lmpreparatory to unreeling the film from the reel.

With these and other objects in view my invention consists in theconstruction, arrangement and combination of the various parts of mydevice, whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinaftermore fully set forth, pointed out in my claims and illustrated in theaccompanying drawing, in which: Figure l is a side elevation of a movingpicture camera showing a pair of my improved type of reels mountedtherein, one from which the lm is being unreeled and the other arrangedfor the Vilm to be wound thereon.

reference numerals IU and i 2 to indicate side l plates of my reel.These are connected in any suitable manner, such as by a sleeve l whichon the drawing is shown as being closed with the exception of a slottedarea l5.

Oscillatable within the reel comprised of the elements IU, l2 and it isa sleeve like cam A having a tubular portion I6 and side flanges I 8 and2G contacting with the outer surfaces of the anges or side plates l andl2 of the reel, as perhaps best shown in Figure 3. The cam A issupported on a hub 22 as for instance by spokes 23. A spirally arrangedflattened film tube 2t extends from the tubular sleeve IB and issuitably supported by the sleeve and the spokes 23 which extend to it,as indicated'on the drawing, but do not extend through it. The crosssectional shape of the tube 26 is best shown in Figure 5.

For unreeling purposes, which will hereinafter appear, rollers 26 areprovided for the film 28 to wind on rather than having it wind on thesleeve it. These rollers are provided with pintles 30 at their endswhich extend through radially arranged slots 32 in the side plates Illand l2. Obviously, in winding the nlm on the rollers 26 the lm will tendto contract these rollers toward the inner ends of the slots 32. Theycan "be forced toward the outer ends of the slots, however, by the cam Awhich has for each pintle 30 an inclined edge 32.

Thev hub 22 is provided with an angular opening such as indicated at 36and shown as square on the drawing, for coaction With either astationary stub shaft 38' in an unreeling cabinet d@ of a motion picturemachine B or with an angular end d3 of a driven shaft Q2 in the reelingup cabinet ltd of the machine. The shafts 38 and 22 may be provided witha suitable locking device, such as a lever Q6, as shown in Figure 3, toprevent the reel from slipping off the shafts.

The cam A is provided with a. suitable lever i8 for oscillating it. Thecam has been rotated in the direction of the arrow 50 (see Figure 2) forpermitting the pintle 30 and the rollers 26 to .conti-act. When ,thelever is moved in the opposite direction, it expands the rollers.

In connection with the tube 2d, and preferably the discharge end 2dathereof, I provide a lm locking lever 52. It is pivoted as at 52 on vthecam A and is constrained to an unlocking position by a4 spring 56. Ithas a finger 58 adapted to enter openings formed through the walls ofthe tube in such position that the finger 58 may extend through one ofthe sprocket holes 62 of the film 28. l A stationary pin 641 ismountedon the side plate lll to coact with an inclined surface 66 of thelocking lever 52 in a manner which will hereinafter be fully set forth.

Practical operation In the operation of my improved lm reel, assumingthe lm has been completely reeled up as in Figure 4, a rubber band isslipped over one of the plates I@ or l2 and allowed to contact on 56pulls the locking finger 58 out of the openings in the tube 24 and alsoout of the sprocket hole of the film 28 with which it was coacting.

The reel can now be slipped on the stationary stub shaft 38 so that inunreeiing the film the reel does not rotate, which is contrary to thegeneral present day practice.

The film is now sufficiently loose that it can be easily unreeled fromthe inside rather than from the outside, as is generally done. The endof the lm projecting from the tube 24 may be properly re-threadedthrough the feeding mechanism of the moving picture machine B and itslower end threaded into the tube 24 of the reel in the lower cabinet 44as shown in Figure 4. This end oithe film is extended between two of therollers 2B as illustrated and into the tube 24 to project slightly fromthe inner end 24a of the tube. 48 of the lower reel is then moved in adirection opposite the arrow 50 so as to expand the rollers 26 to theposition shown in Figure 4 and at the same time swing the locking nger58 to lock the extending end of the film in position due to the coactionof the stationary pin 64 with the in- 1 clined surface 66 of the lockinglever 52.

Locking of the end of the film, of course, is necessary inasmuch as theshaft 42 rotates and likewise rotates the reel with it for winding upthe film. The usual mechanism for accomplishing this reeling up is abelt which can slip and therefore whatever tension there is on the belttends to ro'll the film just that tightly on the reel. If its inner endwere not locked, it, of course, would be immediately pulled olf thereel.

Heretofore it has been the usual practice after film is wound on a reelin the lower cabinet 44 to wind it by hand or by some motor drivenmachine or the like, on to another reel so that the beginning end is onthe outside of the roll rather than on the inside. This requiresadditional time and is quite objectionable, especially in home movieoutfits where the loss of such time delays the entertainment.

By my invention the rewinding of the film is entirely unnecessary.` Thesimultaneous operation of the cam A and the locking lever 52 insuresthat the rollers 26 will be expanded before reeling up the film as ifthey are not, then the lock will not be operated andthe film will slipout. On the other hand the single operation of adjusting the cam loosensthe film so that two operations are not required before winding up thefilm.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of theparts of my device without departing from the real spirit and purpose ofmy invention, and it is my intention to cover by my claims, any modifiedforms of structure or use `of mechanical equivalents, which may be4reasonably included within their scope.

' I claim as my invention: 1. In combination with a film reel, a guidetub for film at the center of said reel having a dis- The lever" menttherein, said means being connected with said lock to unlock itsimultaneously with the movement inwardly of said rollers by operatingsaid means.

2. In combination with a film reel, a guide tube for film at the centerof said reel having a discharge end directed to discharge film from thel inner end of a coil of film on said reel to the side thereof, saidreel including a plurality of rollers on which said film is reeled whensaid reel is rotated, said rollers having pintles, said rollers beingmovable radially and means for moving them radially outward beforereeling film thereon and radially inwardbefore unreeiing film from theinner end of the coil of film reeled thereon,

ysaid means comprising an oscillatable cam having inclinedportionsengaging said pintles.

3. A film reel including radially movable elements on which film isreeled, a cam having cam surfaces engaging said elements for expandingand contracting them when moved in opposite lcam is moved to contractingposition.

4. In combination with a film reel 'comprising side plates having slotstherein, means extending between said side plates on which said film maybe reeled and having portions projecting through said slots, a rotatablecam for engaging said projecting portions and moving them outwardly uponrotation in one direction relative to said film reel, a guide tube forfilm at the center of said reel having a discharge end at the sidethereof and a lock pin for extending into a sprocket hole of iilm insaid guide tube and said pin being extended to locking position by saidcam when it is rotated in one direction and withdrawn to unlockingposition when it is rotated in the other direction.

5. In combination with a film reel comprising side plates having slotstherein, means extending between said side plates on which said film maybe reeled and having portions projecting through said slots, a rotatablecam for engaging said proj ecting portions and moving them outwardlyupon rotation in one direction relative to said film reel, and a guidetube for film at the center of said reel having a discharge end at theside thereof.

6. In combination with a film reel comprising side plates having slotstherein, means extending between said side plates on which said film maybe reeled and having portions projecting through said slots, a rotatablecam disk having a cam surface for engaging each of said projectingportions and moving them outwardly upon rotation in one directionrelative to said film reel, a guide tube for film at the center of saidreel having a discharge end at the side thereof and a lock pin forextending into a sprocket hole of flhn in said guide tube, said pinbeing extended to locking position by said cam disk when it is rotatedin one direction and withdrawn to unlocking position,

when it is rotated in the other direction.

FLOYD L. HESS.

